I am a writer, artist, and homeschooling mom. Here you will find musings on life, readings, and a relationship with God. To add a RSS feed to this blog, go to http://feeds.feedburner.com/SpiritualWoman

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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

How to Teach Your Children About the Facts of Life

There is something about teaching one’s children about the
facts of life that inspires fear in the hearts of parents everywhere. When that
day came for my boys and me, I nervously searched my local library for an
appropriate book (many I found were clearly not appropriate from a moral
standpoint), sat down on the couch with the two of them, read, and answered
questions as we went. I also did my best to include a moral component. I know
it was only the first of many conversations and it was painful for all three of
us, but at least it covered the basic biological aspects of procreation.

I wish I had a copy of the new book by Carolyn J. Smith at
my disposal when I faced that initial conversation. Growing Up In God's Image: A New Approach to the Facts of Life Talk includes
all the information any Catholic parent will need to pass on a biologically
informative, morally sound take on the changes of puberty and the beauty of
sexual intercourse.

Smith has been married for forty-two years and is a mother
of ten children and grandmother of fifteen. She created a Family Life
curriculum at a private school in the Baltimore area and used Growing Up in God’s Image as a tool in
her own parish to help guide parents through the discussion of the facts of
life with their children.

Smith divides the text into three main sections, all focused
on love: Spousal Love Reflects the Love of the Trinity, Spousal Love Reflects
the Love of Christ for Each One of Us in the Eucharist, and Spousal Love is
Sacramental Love. The book is rooted in Scripture. the Catechism, and Blessed
Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. She emphasizes the self-giving nature
of love, and the importance of co-creating with God in the conception of
children. She also discusses modesty and the importance of caring for one’s
body.

It includes all the necessary biological facts, including
diagrams, as well as the very important spiritual aspects of marital
relationships and intimacy. For older children, there is an additional section
on “Thoughts to Consider” which delves into these topics on a deeper level. It
also includes a subsection on dating, which offers much good advice, but which
some modern parents might find a bit anachronistic. For example, Smith suggests
that only on very rare occasions should a girl ever call a boy. Parents and
teens can certainly make decisions together regarding dating rules, but this guide
offers a good start for the conversation.

Smith fully admits that she presents the ideal of human sexuality
in this book. Like the Theology of the Body itself, it is a goal that very few
of us every perfectly achieve. As she states, “We give our children God’s way,
pure and untouched. Then, we teach our kids to strive to be their best, with
God’s help!”

Growing Up in God’s
Image should be in the parenting toolbox of every Catholic parent of tweens
and teens to help guide those important and nerve-wracking conversations on
human sexuality.

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About Me

I am a life-long Roman Catholic, homeschooling mom of two boys (ages 13 1/2 and 12), and adoptive mom of a 4 year old girl, married for 17 years. I am the author of "The Catholic Baby Name Book" and "Letters to Mary from a Young Mother." I have a BA in History and Fine Art and a Master of Arts Degree in Applied Theology

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